Feeling's Mutual
by Saya Sideways
Summary: No one ever noticed. It started simply in the way they would gravitate towards each other in a room. Nothing more. Until it was. Mal/Jaime
1. Holding Hands

Author's Note: I, of course, own nothing from Young Justice. This is a slash fic that is done in response to a 30 day OTP challenge. If you have no interest, simply do not read. If you do, enjoy.

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1: "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

Mal had no idea when it started: that tug in his chest when his eyes landed on Blue-Jaime. He had been given permission to call him Jaime. Maybe that was when it had started. Mal didn't know. What he did know was that it need to stop.

Jaime was only sixteen. Sixteen. Minor. Too young. Illegal. So Mal needed to step away from this before he couldn't. Not that he was fooling himself. Mal knew he was stuck already. He couldn't step away from Jaime if he tried.

There was something about Jaime. Something he'd never seen in Karen. Mal tried to pin it once, but only came up with things like Jaime's calm, easy going way about everything and his dedication to friends and relationships before all else…well, that and some strange magnetism that simply hung about the young man, drawing Mal in. Making him want to touch.

And that's when Mal would hit the gym, or the training room, or the showers, or anywhere Jaime wasn't. Because Jaime was young. Young and oblivious to the affect that his smile was beginning to have on Mal. Yet the heaviness in Jaime's eyes made it impossible to deny the boy anything, so the young one began to tag after Mal.

His relationship with Karen ended quietly, amicably, soon after. Her heart had always been set on science, and his…his had begun to stray somewhere he feared it wandering- in the depths of honey brown eyes and the rich tones of Spanglish. He was then forced to teach his hands to fold into his arms rather than to reach out for things they should not be wanting.

One day Jaime crashed on Mal's couch, exhausted and without a word. Mal was left to the sight of him- sprawled out at odd angles, limbs askew, and lips slightly parted- with only Jaime's shallow, steady breathing to fill the silence. It was a test of self-control that Mal didn't think he was up to.

When Jaime woke, Mal was not to be found at first. Jaime wandered into the back yard eventually, only to spot Mal perched on the roof. Scarab let Jaime grow some Blue Beetle wings and fly up to sit by Mal. Carefully, Jaime asked what was on his mind and Mal admitted that he was thinking of the time that Blue Beetle and the others had been captured by Kaldur and how Mal had feared that they might not come back. It wasn't entirely the truth, but the thought **had** crossed Mal's mind that night.

Jaime in turn pronounced that it was too heavy a though for the moment, that they should enjoy the rare peace that they had found, and insisted instead that the two of them should devise a secret handshake. Mal laughed at the idea at first, but then remembered that Jaime had not had a lot of friends before the Team, and that perhaps he had never had the chance to make a secret handshake before. Sobered, Mal agreed, hoping desperately that his palms didn't sweat in anticipation of touching Jaime's hands.

_I want to hold your hand. _the suddenness of the thought almost had Mal staggering because it was exactly what he wanted with Jaime. He just wanted to hold this strange, delightful boy's hand. To be trusted with such a vulnerable part of him. But then Mal remembered Jaime's age and reeled in his rampant thoughts.

It took a few tries before the two figured out what they wanted their handshake to consist of. Then they spent quite some time attempting to perfect it. After the fifteenth run through Jaime's hand lingered on Mal's and Mal begun to grow nervous, his palm sweating at Jaime's nearness.

Mal jerked his hand away, desperate for Jaime to not figure out the reason behind his palm's sweatiness, to not figure Mal out. Suddenly, Mal feared that Jaime's powers might include mind reading, that he might be found out by the younger boy.

Jaime's crushed and confused expression and his heartbreakingly quiet, "Oh." as he let his exquisite, tan hand drop wiped all thought of that paranoia from Mal's mind. Mal huffed then, searching for words to explain it all away, to wipe that look from Jaime's face. When Jaime stood to leave, Mal's hand shot out instinctively, catching Jaime by the wrist.

"Wait." Mal pleaded, tugging at Jaime's wrist until the Hispanic boy sat back down, while Mal searched for words that didn't sound ridiculous to explain himself. When none came Mal just stared at Jaime's hand. Beautiful and perfect. Meant to be held.

Mal sighed and turned Jaime's hand over, examining it for a moment before slipping his darker fingers one-by-one in between Jaime's own. With effort, Mal steadied his voice a bit as he asked quietly, "Is this…" Mal squeezed Jaime's hand for emphasis, "…is this okay?"

Jaime was quiet for a moment, looking at their intertwined as if he were examining them intently. The pause lasted so long that Mal almost pulled away, but Jaime's easy, gentle voice stopped him, "Yeah, hermano. It's okay." Fingers tangled together in the semi-darkness, nothing more, nothing less, Mal really thought it might be.


	2. Cuddling Somewhere

2: "Somewhere I Belong"

"He appears to be preoccupied. Sneaking up on him may not have the desired result. Discontinue this course of action." Scarab's mechanical voice advised, more like ordered. It was always more like an order with Scarab.

"Shut up!" Jaime hissed. At the sound of Jaime's voice Mal turned around, a smile already set on his face. Jaime had only a moment to sigh and silently curse Scarab for ruining this for him. All he'd wanted to do was sneak up on his…were they considered "boyfriends" yet? Not that Jaime really liked the sound of that. It made him feel like a girl.

At that, Scarab began to rattle off a list of other names for Jaime and Mal's relationship, as well as starting to present species that had homosexual tendencies, all the while chastising Jaime for having this relationship at all because it made them vulnerable. _NOT helping._ Jaime thought viciously, smiling awkwardly up at Mal. He had only wanted to sneak up behind Mal and hug him, but now his courage was depleted.

"Jaime." As always, Mal's deep voice managed to sound soft and…something Jaime couldn't quite put his finger on, but which made him feel very warm. Mal always said Jaime's name as if it were a treat to have it roll off his tongue. It made Jaime feel special-wanted-as if he belonged nowhere more than in Mal's arms, and really, that was all that Jaime had wanted out of this venture. To be in Mal's arms.

"Then demand it," Scarab piped up, "Our power is greater than his, so you have the right to anything you wish from him." _Again. NOT. HELPING. _Jaime mentally corrected Scarab so ferociously that he feared for a moment that he might have growled it aloud, but Mal was still smiling at him, though his head was tilted to the side inquiringly, as he held a spatula in his hand.

"H-hi," Jaime offered suddenly, after realizing that he had not yet responded to Mal. Hands clenching and unclenching at his own silliness, Jaime tried his best to make his smile sit better on his face, more like the charming way Mal's smile simply curved ever upwards without a care.

"Hello." Mal replied warmly, his tone practically vibrating with mirth. Jaime's cheeks flushed and he hated them for it. All Jaime's brain offered at the moment was babbling about how he didn't understand how Mal could look at him that way, and how he didn't care that there were six years between them, or how they were both guys, or that there was a stupid, violent thing attached to his spine because it shut up when Mal was touching him, and all he wanted was for Mal to hold him. Jaime was so very happy that his mouth chose that moment to stop working.

"Did you need something?" Mal asked softly, always softly (even with such a deep voice) with Jaime, and Jaime loved him for that.

_Wait. Love?! _Jaime's brain latched on to that and tried to wrap around it. He and Mal had only been together for a little over a month. It was too soon for-for…for the was Mal was looking at him just then. Nervously, Jaime 's eyes fell as his hand reached out, landing gently, almost reverently, over Mal's rib cage. Jaime could feel the strength gathered there. The warmth and the love. All of the beautiful things that made Mal Mal.

Jaime let his gaze sneak back up, desperately seeking Mal's reaction. Mal only smiled down at him, so warm and…loving, so unbelievably loving that Jaime lost the ability to breath in the wake of it, but soon it was filling his lungs and breathing for him. Emboldened, Jaime's hand curved slowly around to rest on Mal's back.

_I want you to hold me. _Jaime silently pleaded, and as if Mal were a mind-reader his dark, powerful arms were enclosing surely around Jaime, encasing him with the warmth, safety and **love **that is Mal. Slowly, Jaime let out a breath that he hadn't been holding, and wrapped both of his arms around Mal, letting his hands rest on Mal's solid shoulder blades.

Mal always seemed to know just what Jaime needed, so they went to the couch, where Mal held him, and Jaime burrowed into Mal's chest, savoring the peace he found there. If the spatula came with them, Jaime paid it no mind, too pleased and comfortable being pressed so close to, and being held so tightly by, Mal. They lay there, undisturbed, for quite some time. It was only when Jaime began nodding off, Mal watching him closely, so pleased to call Jaime his own, that Mal realized that he had let the food burn.


	3. Gaming, Watching a Movie

Chapter 3 "Constant"

It was a tradition among the Team. Playing games was practically an imperative of being a functional member. Once, they had a competition almost every week. A free-for-all of controllers, sucker punches, hastily formed and broken alliances, and laughter that echoed for miles. Not to mention the impressive "in your face"s that were hashed out by the winners.

It was something that drew them back like a magnet every time. Even though they were scattered across the world. Even though they were wildly different and at odds at times. It always brought them back, and brought them closer together. Showed them that they were a family and could be silly and competitive and still be okay.

But that ended with Mount Justice. The Team was well and truly scattered now, and it was harder to get everyone together to play. So when Jaime showed up at the door of Mal's temporary apartment, spare controller in one hand and the newest racing game in the other, Mal almost hesitated. After all, it was a **Team** thing, but it was **Jaime**, so, of course, Mal couldn't say, "No."

As Mal edged the door open only wide enough to let Jaime slide in and checked to make sure no one was stalking around in the hallway before dead bolting the door, he couldn't help but notice that things had never been so awkward between them. The unsure sweep of Mal's arm as he led Jaime into the living room and Jaime's shuffling steps only gave them away. Neither was sure what to do in this situation and it made Mal frown.

Mal stepped forward and placed his hand on Jaime's chin, turning it this way and that, searching for any signs that Jaime might have been jumped on the way to the apartment. _I knew I shouldn't have given him my address. _Mal silently admonished himself. Jaime began twitching and wiggling under Mal's scrutiny and Mal loosened his grip.

"What are you doing?" Jaime asked, his voice a little high and breathy as looked up into Mal's dark eyes. Mal let his hand drop and almost smiled at the way Jaime scrunched his face together and rubbed absently at the places Mal had placed his fingers, but then Mal shook himself and got down to business.

"You shouldn't have come here." Mal said with a sigh, looking Jaime in the eye so that the younger man would understand that he was serious.

Jaime bit his lip and shifted his weight, looking off to the side, "Look if this about the game I'm-"

Mal put his hand on Jaime's shoulder and spoke with all the softness his could muster when his brain was presenting him with the many ways Jaime could have been hurting coming to his apartment, "Jaime, no. This isn't about the game." Jaime nodded, but stared at the floor as if it had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Jaime, look at me." Mal murmured, running his thumb reverently over the curve of the young man's cheek until wide brown eyes gazed up at him. Mal had to fight to steady his breathing at that look, but this was important so he managed," I understand what game days meant to you."

"You do?" Jaime whispered, looking up at Mal with mild confusion, as if he couldn't comprehend another person understanding him. Then Jaime's face flashed between apprehension and determination lightning fast before the Hispanic boy threw on a smirk, " I was under the impression that you didn't understand half the things I said."

Mal blinked, lost for a moment, then let out a booming laugh as he recalled the incident Jaime was referencing. "In all fairness," Mal began once he stopped laughing, "I didn't know about Scarab then. I thought you were just crazy and talking to yourself."

Mal shook his head at the memory, and it helped him clear his head and remember what Jaime had distracted him from," But seriously, Jaime. It's not a safe neighborhood. Especially not with anything valuable on you." Mal gestured towards the game and controller that Jaime held. Jaime looked at them as if he'd forgotten that he brought them before throwing them absently onto the couch.

Jaime scoffed then, and tossed Mal a lopsided grin that always seemed to say, "I can take care of myself". Jaime took Mal's hand in his own as Mal's free hand moved of its own accord to ghost over the sensitive skin on the inside of Jaime's wrist. It was a tell, a show of how deeply worried Mal had been, something he often did when Jaime returned from a dangerous mission.

"Mal." Jaime only used his name when he was serious, "I am not Karen."

Mal's eyes widened as he shot back, "I know that!"

"I know you know, ese." Jaime assured, "I'm just trying to point out that I'm not a woman, and I'm a superhero for crying out loud. I know you worry, and I love that you love me enough to, but I wish you wouldn't worry **so much**. You're going to need to learn to deal with the fact that I will be in danger a lot if this is going to work."

Jaime paused then and brought Mal's hand to his lips, placing a tender kiss on his knuckles to get his point across. Mal's heart stopped at that, but Jaime hardly noticed as he continued on, "And I **want** this to work, Mal. I want it so much more than you could ever know, but for this to work you have to trust me."

Jaime chuckled then. "At the very least, trust me enough to walk through a bad neighborhood without getting killed, or maimed, or whatever your brain keeps telling you. After all, you **live** here. Ever stop to think how worried I might be about you?"

"About...me?" Mal queried softly, slowly coming out of the haze Jaime's nearness sometimes caused, less now that he was accustoming himself to it. "Why would you worry about me?"

Jaime laughed riotously at that, his whole body shaking as he did. "Maybe the same reason you worry about me. You may be a big, strong man, but that doesn't make you invincible." A serious look crossed Jaime's face then. "And you mean so much to me. We have enemies. **I **have enemies. Supervillains with loco powers that I might not always be able to protect you from." Jaime's grip tightened as his face drew together as he frowned severely, "If anything ever happened to you-"

"Stop." Mal's voice did just that, causing Jaime to snap his mouth shut and look up at Mal. Mal sighed again, he'd been doing far too much of that tonight, and ginned at Jaime. "We're worrying ourselves to death over things that may never happen. I think it's important to be prepared for these possibilities since we live so dangerously, but I also think you're right. We need to deal with the fact that we are both going to be in danger most of the time if we want this to work. Which I do."

Jaime smiled then, a wild and beautiful thing," I couldn't agree more." Mal's breathing really did stop then, sometimes Jaime was just so far out of what he expected…and he loved every second of it. He had a sudden urge to kiss the living daylights out of Jaime, but he pulled back from that because he didn't think Jaime was ready for that just yet, no matter what the boy said.

Mal coughed awkwardly to reduce the desire to pounce upon the younger man that was still holding his hand. "So games, was it?" Jaime blinked, and tiled his head to the side.

"Oh yeah!" Jaime exclaimed," Um, I actually…" Jaime rubbed the back of his head nervously as he stuttered, "I didn't-I didn't really want to play games. It just…seemed like a good excuse to come see you."

Mal's heart melted at that. Jaime was blushing furiously and Mal swore he'd never seen anything cuter in his whole life. Jaime started to try to trip over a retraction of what'd he's just said, but Mal just talked over him, "A movie, then?" He smiled down at the now red-faced boy. "Since you're already here."

Jaime paused, at a loss for a moment, before speaking up, "Ye-Yeah." Mal went about setting the movie up while Jaime moved his game and controller off the couch so he could sit down. Mal turned the overhead light off and the lamp on before sitting down to the previews, through which Jaime tried to casually scoot closer to Mal, except halfway through Mal was done with pretense and just pulled Jaime to lean up against him.

Jaime squeaked, a very curious sound that Mal filed away for later use, but soon settled in and lay his head upon Mal's chest. Mal intertwined their fingers sighed in contentment that bordered on bliss as the movie started up. So caught up were they in the ease of each other's presence that by the end of the movie neither could have told what it was about, and neither cared.


End file.
